Hiding Scars

Chapter 1

Hilde Maxwell hefted her purse up over her shoulder and dodged around an old woman who was walking through the parking lot at an exceedingly slow pace. Hilde wasn't necessarily in a hurry, but she hated when other people slowed down her normal walking speed. Hilde shuffled past some other people and entered the large grocery store. Hilde knew it was always a mistake to try and go shopping on the weekend, since it was always busy, but she had neglected the task all week, and now Duo was complaining about there being nothing to eat in the house. Hilde pulled her list out of her purse and scanned it, skipping over the items in Duo's chicken scratch that she knew they did not need. Hilde grabbed a cart and pushed it ahead of her, dodging weekend shoppers.

As she was walking past the health and beauty aisles, a small display caught her eye. It was a cardboard set up announcing the debut novel of someone named Cassandra Cooper. Hilde stopped beside the display and picked up one of the hardcover books that sat on the display. It was a thick book, covered in a hardcover binding with a dust jacket. The cover of the book stated that the name of the book was The Invitation, written by Cassandra Cooper. The image on the front was of an envelope, which had been sealed with a wax stamp. Hilde set the book down and started to walk away, but she turned back and picked up the book again. She turned it over in her hands and flipped open the back cover. On the back flap, there was a picture of a young woman, with fiery red hair and green eyes. The author biography simply stated that Cassandra Cooper is a debut novelist who resides in Virginia Beach, Virginia, in the United States. Finally, after staring at the book for another minute, Hilde placed it in her cart.

When Hilde got home, she unpacked her groceries and placed the book on the dining room table. Once she had all the items put away in the cupboards and refrigerator, Hilde picked the book back up, settled down on the couch and opened up to the first page.

My 16th birthday was fast approaching, and it was time to send out invitations.

Duo Maxwell and Heero Yuy had left early that morning to spend some time at the gun range. The two former pilots were feeling rusty and out of shape, so they spent most of the morning and early afternoon shooting apart targets. After they'd had their fill, they packed up their guns and left the range, stopping off at a nearby bar for a beer before heading home.

Duo noticed that Heero seemed quieter than usual, though Duo could tell he had fun at the range. Heero sat at the bar, leaning slightly forward, his hands cupped around the base of his lager glass. He was staring off into space.

"You've been too quiet," Duo commented after a while. Heero shrugged his shoulders. "Though I guess that's not too far from the norm," Duo added as a joke. Heero didn't even blink at him. Duo frowned. "What's going on with you today, man?" Without speaking, Heero took his phone out of his pocket, pressed a button, and slid his phone over to Duo. Duo looked down and saw that Heero's calendar was open on the screen. There was only one event listed for that day. Duo opened the event and read: Relena Disappeared. "Oh..." Duo said, pushing the phone back to his friend. "Why do you remind yourself of that every year?" Duo asked after a moment.

"Because I failed, and in order to better myself, I must always remind myself of my failures," Heero said. Duo looked skeptical.

"I don't think that's how it's supposed to work," Duo said. "Besides, you didn't fail," he added.

"I did. I never found her. For all we know, she's dead," Heero said. Duo squirmed uncomfortably when his normally stoic friend's voice cracked when he said that Relena might be dead. Duo opened his mouth to speak several times, though each time what he wanted to say was not the right thing. Finally, uncharacteristically, Duo decided to say nothing. He simply slapped his hand on Heero's shoulder, then went back to drinking his beer.

Hilde was halfway through her book when her phone rang. She didn't bother to look at the phone, but pressed the button to answer and held it up to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe," Duo's voice was on the other end of the line.

"Oh, hey. How's it going?" Hilde asked, her eyes still on her page.

"Good. We just stopped for a beer after the firing range. I asked Heero to come over for dinner. He's have a rough day," Duo said.

"Oh?" Hilde stopped reading. "Why?"

"He apparently reminds himself every year that Relena disappeared, and today is the day, four years ago, that she went missing. Remember?"

"Oh my goodness," Hilde said quietly. She lowered her book down into her lap. "That's right, that was today. He shouldn't be alone."

"Exactly. So we'll be home in about twenty minutes," Duo said.

"Okay," Hilde replied. They said goodbye and hung up the phone. Hilde set aside her book and stood up from the couch. On the mantle, behind some other pictures, was an old picture, from the first summer after the Eve War, of the whole group, together, on a beach in Europe. Relena and Heero were standing beside each other, and if Hilde looked closely, she could tell that they were holding hands. It always made her smile. She set the picture back and turned around, reflecting.

It had been Relena's 18th birthday party, a lavish event planned mostly by her friends. It had been around midnight, when Relena was thanking everyone for coming and celebrating her birthday with her, when the gun shot rang through the large ballroom. Chaos ensued, and Relena had been hit in the arm by the bullet. She immediately crouched down to the ground, covering her arm with her hand. Heero had bolted up onto the small raised platform and was shielding her from any other attack. The Preventers and the police took over, trying to calm the crowd.

Relena was taken to the hospital and had a few stitches in her arm, but she was otherwise okay. When she was released from the hospital, she went home, and no one saw her for a couple of days. She resurfaced for a couple of meetings, but then exactly a week after she was attacked at her birthday party, she was gone. Her home was left as it was, with nothing missing that anyone could tell. None of her close friends, family or neighbors knew what happened to her, as no one had talked to her after she went home from the hospital. A search was done to try and recover her, but without leads, the search was difficult, and was called off after two months.

Hilde knew that Heero was devastated by the disappearance. He went into a sullen mood for about two years afterwards, disappearing himself, re-appearing for a little while, then going off on his own again. It was only recently that Heero got an apartment near Duo and Hilde's home, and has been spending time with the couple. They never asked him where he'd been or what he'd been up to. They simply accepted him back into their lives and tried to keep him as occupied as possible.

Hilde shook her head sadly, picked up her book off the couch and went into the kitchen. As she prepared dinner, she kept the book propped open so she could read while she cooked. The story was engaging, and the voice of the author was smooth and beautiful. Hilde found herself getting lost in the story over and over again, and completely forgetting the world around her.

While she was cooking, Heero and Duo arrived at the house, grabbed a few beers and disappeared into the garage, where Duo was restoring an old car. Hilde continued to read, and as she neared the end, the story became more and more tragic. As she was finishing dinner and laying out plates on the table, she was crying. Heero and Duo appeared in the dining room just as she was reading the last paragraph.

"Babe, what's wrong?" Duo asked. Hilde closed the book and looked up at the two men.

"This book- it just had a really sad ending," Hilde said, setting the book aside. She wiped away her tears and finished laying out the food on the table. The three of them sat down around the table and began to pile food onto their plates. Hilde couldn't help but continue to speak about the book to the two mostly uninterested men.

"I just can't get over the author's voice in the novel though. It was like I was hearing the story from a close friend, or something," Hilde said. Duo and Heero, who did not often read fiction books, glanced at each other. "You'd just have to read it," Hilde said, sticking her tongue out at her husband. For the rest of dinner, they spoke about light topics, such as upcoming get togethers with other friends and where they might want to go for their annual vacation. Hilde and Duo exchanged nervous glances at each other whenever Heero said something that seemed too dark or suggested him being alone, and they would immediately change the subject.

After dinner, Heero declined to stay longer, and left for his own apartment. Duo and Hilde sat together on the couch, both brooding about Heero and his mood.

"Sometimes I get angry at her for disappearing on us," Hilde muttered. Duo nodded.

"I'm sure she had a good reason for it, if that's what happened. But don't forget that she disappeared on the entire world, and the colonies. Nothing has been normal since," Duo said. HIlde nodded.

"I wish I knew what she was thinking," Hilde said. She got up from the couch and grabbed The Invitation. She opened to the first page and began to read it again.

"Didn't you just finish that?" Duo asked, opting to turn on the television.

"Yes, because it's bugging me that I can't figure out why the voice in this book is so familiar," Hilde said. She kept reading for a few more pages, and at the same time, she was thinking about Relena.

"Relena," Hilde said suddenly.

"What about her?" Duo asked.

"It sounds like Relena!" Hilde said, getting excited. She flipped through a few more pages to some of the dialogue and read it.

"Let me see," Duo said. He took the book from her and flipped back to the first page. He read much slower than Hilde, and after several minutes he only made it to the third page. "I think you're right babe. It does sort of sound like her. You know who we should ask though..." Duo trailed off, setting the book aside and pulling his phone out of his pocket. He dialed a number and waited.

"Who are you calling?" Hilde asked. Duo held up a finger to her.

"Hey Quatre, how's it going?" Duo said into the phone. Hilde nodded, understanding Duo's train of thought. Hilde could faintly hear Quatre's voice through the phone. "Yeah I actually had a favor to ask you, and it's going to sound random," Duo said. He picked up the book. "Go buy the book The Invitation by Cassandra Cooper and read it. Hilde and I have some suspicions about the book, and we wanted your opinion," Duo explained. "Okay great. Just let me know. See ya buddy," Duo said, then hung up the phone. He turned to Hilde. "Quatre is going to get the book and read it. If anyone will know for sure, it'll be him. He's read the most things written by Relena."

Hilde took the book into her hands again and flipped to the back cover to the picture of Cassandra Cooper. The couple looked at the picture.

"If that is her, she looks great as a redhead," Duo commented.

"But why would she come out with this now?" Hilde asked. "What is she doing?" Duo shrugged.

"I have never claimed to understand the mind of a woman," Duo said. Hilde punched him in the arm.